Sectional bookcase.



' UNITED STATES Patented July 28, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDERJ. GILMOUR, or NEWMARKET, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO YAW-.

MAN & ERBE f MFG. OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SECTIONALI BOOKCAQS E.

I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 34,537, dated July 28, 1903. Application filed October 10, 1901. Serial No. 78,154- (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LALEXANDER J. GILMoUR, of Newmarket, county of York, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new 5 and useful Improvements in Sectional Bookcases; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specifi- 1o cation, and to the reference-n umerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to sectional bookcases composed of separate sections so arranged that additional shelves or sections may be added to the bookcase at will; and my invention has for its object to provide a shelf-section that shall be capable of interlocking with additional similar sections to form a complete bookcase of any desired size and which shall be provided with a door capablle of opening to allow free access to the she f.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements in construction and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification. v

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective 0 view of a bookcase composed of a plurality of sections constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one of the shelf-sections, and'Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the linesow of Fig. 2. Similar reference-numerals in the three figures indicate similar parts.

A bookcase constructed in accordance with my invention is composedof a plurality of I separate sections, each embodying a bottom 0 or shelf 1, the ends 2,and the back portion 3, and as the separate sections are adapted to be arranged one upon another I provide upon thebottomof each centering devices in the form of two longitudinally-extending strips or cleats 4, adapted to engage upon oppositesides of a single cleat or strip 5, extending between the upper edges of the end portions 2 and preferably arranged centrally thereon.

If desired, the abutting edges of the cleats 4t and 5 may be beveled at a slight angle, as shown, to allow themto readily pass into engagement when one section is placed upon another, as will be understood. This arrangement of the cleats is also applicable to the base 6, employed to elevate the lower section above the floor, and to the top 7, which may be removed when it is desired to apply another section and then replaced to afford a finished appearance to the bookcase.

In order to protect the contents of the bookcase, I provide each of the several sections with a door 10, preferably containing glass panels, as shown, which when closed extend from the interior of the case by avery simple method of construction. The door, is removably supported at the front of the easing upon supporting arms 15, pivoted at theirinner ends on pin 16 on the end portions 2 of the casing and at their outer ends connected to brackets 17, extending inwardly from the rear of the door at the upper corners. By pivoting the arms to the end portions 2 -near the rear of the casing and preferably below the center of the door the latter will be swung clear of the forward edge of the shelf and supported beyond the door on the next lower section, and by curving the arms slighly at their outer ends, as shown, the upper edge of the door may be dropped below the plane of the shelf, permitting free and convenient access to the interior of the section. The door is normally held in a closed position by means of springs 20, mounted on plates 21 and secured to the ends 2 and having their outer curved ends engaging notches 22, provided in the lower sides of the arms or supports 15. The springs 20 are of sufficient strength to hold the door and move it into its uppermost position when the points of connection of the springs and arms are moved above the pivotal centers of the arms, and

this upward tendency imparted to the arms operating through the offset-brackets 17 tends to hold the lower edge of the door in engagement with the edge of the shelf or the next lower door. The leverage exerted on the spring by the door-supporting arms when the door is open is sufficient to prevent the springs from raising andclosing it; but when it is lifted by the operator the springs do assist and tend to counterbalance it.

The arms 15 are covered and the books at each end of the shelf protected from injury by contact with said arms during their movement by means of panels 25, extending from top to bottom and from front to rear of each end of the section, being separated from the end portions 2 by filling-strips 26, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, or otherwise. At the bottom of said spaces, between the end portions and the panels at the forward edge of the shelf, are arranged stop-pieces 27, having their upper surfaces beveled and forming an abutment against which the lower edge of the arms engage when the door is in the open position, as shown in Fig. 3.

The operation will now be readily understood. iVhen it is desired to open one of the doors, the operator by means of the handles or knobs 28 on the lower edge of the door draws it forward, slightly tilting it upon the brackets 17, the edge of the bottom or cleat 4; being cut away, as shown at 29, to accommodate the inward-tilting movement of the tongue 11, when the door may be moved downwardly, swinging the arms 15 upon their pivots 16 against the tension of the springs 20, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The construction which 1 have shown and described, in which the door is supported on the arms arranged at the ends of the casing, whereby it is outside of the casing when in an open position, enables me to reduce the height of each shelf-section, which is a saving of the space otherwise wasted when the door is mounted in such a manner as to be moved into the casing when in the open position, thereby permitting me to increase the number of shelves that it may be desired to arrange vertically in a single bookcase.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing having the ends and open at the front, the combination with a door movable in a vertical plane, of arms attached to the door and pivoted to the casing whereby the door may be moved vertically into and out of position to afford access to the interior of the casing.

2. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing open at the front and having the ends, the combination with a door movable in a vertical plane in front of the casing, of arms attached to the door and the ends of the casing to permit a movement of the door into and out of the front of the casing.

3. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing open at one side and having the ends, the combination with a door movable in a vertical plane in front of the casing, of the arms connected to the door and pivotally attached to the ends of the casing, and devices for normally holding the door in a closed position over the openside of the casing.

4. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing open at one side and having the end portions, the combination with a door, of arms attached to the inner side of the door at its upper edge and pivotally connected to the casing in rear of the door to permit said door to be moved below the bottom of the casing, and springs operating upon the arms to normally hold the door in a closed position.

5. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing open at one side and having the ends, the combination with a door movable in a vertical plane in front of the casing and provided upon its rear side and near the upper edge thereof with inwardly-extending brackets, of arms pivoted to the brackets at one end and at their opposite extremities to the interior of the casing, and devices operating on the arms to support the door in its normal vertical position in the front of the casing.

6. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing open at one side and having the ends, the combination with a door, of curved arms pivotally attached to the door at its upper edge and extending downwardly and rearwardly into the casing and pivot-ed thereto, and springs engaging the arms to normally support the door in its closed position.

7. In a bookcase-section embodying a casing open at the front and having the end portions, the combination with a door movable vertically in front of the casing, of the arms attached to the rear side of the door and pivoted to the inner side of the end portions of the casing, and the panels arranged in the casing covering said arms.

8. In a bookcase-section, the combination with a casing having an open side and provided with the end portions, and the interior end panels, of the door movable in a vertical plane in front of the casing for closing said open side, the arms attached to the door and secured between the panels and the end portions of the casing, and means connected to the arms for holding the door in its normal closed position.

9. In a bookcase-section, the combination with a casing open at one side and having the end portions, and the interior panels forming recesses between their outer faces and the proximate faces of the end portions of the door movable in a vertical plane relative to the casing and normally closing the open side thereof, the arms operating in the recesses and pivoted to the door and casin g, the springs connected to the arms, and stops in the recesses limiting the downward movement of the arms.

10. In a bookcase the combination with a plurality of sections open at one side and adapted to be arranged one above the other, of the separate door for each section having IIO the tongue extending along its upper edgeat the rear side and at its lower edge provided with a rearwardly-opening recess adapted to receive the tongue on the door of the preceding section, means on each section connecting the casing and door whereby the lower edge of the door may be moved outwardly to disengage it from the door on the preceding section and downwardly to afford access to the interior of the section.

11. A bookcase-section embodying a casing having a front opening, a door arranged ontirely exteriorly of the casing and adapted to cover the said opening, and supports on the door extending rearwardly therefrom and connected to the interior of the casing and operating to guide the door away from the front opening, in a substantially vertical position.

12. A bookcase-section embodying a casing having a front opening, a door arranged entirely exteriorly of the casing and having a rib at one edge and a recess at the other for cooperating with the doors of adjacent sections, and supports on the door extending rearwardly therefrom and attached to the easing and operating to guide the door toward and away from the front opening in a substantially vertical position.

13. The combination of a plurality of superposed bookcase-sections each embodying a casing having a front opening, a door arranged entirely exteriorly of the casing, the doors on the adjacent sections abutting and overlapping, and supporting-arms extending rearwardly from the separate doors and attached to the casings and operating to guide the doors toward and away from the front openings and maintaining them in substantially vertical position.

14. In a bookcase-section, the combination with the casing having the front opening, of a vertically-movable door for closing the front opening, the door-supporting arms pivoted in the casing and pivotally connected to the upper edge of the door, and means for moving the armsupwardly to elevate and hold the door closed.

15. In a bookcase-section, the combination with the casing having the front opening, of a vertically-movable door for closing the opening, the door-supporting arms pivoted in the casing and pivotally connected to the upper portion of the door, and automatic means for holding the door closed and counterweighting the same.

' ALEXANDER J. GILMOUR.

Witnesses:

W. J. SMITH, A. J. ORIPPEN, W. O. WIDDIFIELD. 

